Stomach conditioning: Stomach Conditioning

Don't buy your abs; abs are free!

Sit-ups

The best way to get abs is not to join a gym. The best athletes in the world do it "the old fashioned way". Have you ever watched Gymnastics on TV? Have you seen those girls with their abs sticking out of ther leotards. Have you seen those male gymnasts on the rings holding their bodies out - like magic. Do you think they weight train? Do you think they have fancy equipment? Well if you do think this, you are mistaken. All a person needs to get abs - is their living room. Put your feet underneath your couch, curl your knees up, and do sit-ups. A beginner does not have to go all the way up. Just go half way (or as far as you can go). Don't just count numbers; count time. Do sit-ups for half an hour. Your goal is to increase the numbers of sit-ups in that half an hour that you do. I can do 500 sit-ups in half an hour - all the way up and down. If you do this even one day a week, you will see improvements in a month.

Hollow Rockers/ Hollow Holds

Other good exercises for your abs: Hollow Rockers/ Hollow Holds

Lay on your back; lift your chest off of the floor and your legs. Then rock back and forth. Make sure that only the small of your back is touching the floor. Again, time is always the best measurement. Do this excercise for half an hour. Try to increase the number of rockers that you can do in that half an hour. If you can keep rocking without stopping you have reached your goal.

For some people this might be too advanced. Keep the time at half an hour. Lift only your legs, or lift only your chest. During that half an hour make sure that you are constantly working/ trying to work. Eventually your numbers will increase. You should work out your stomach muscles atleast for a half an hour a week - that is if you have a busy schedule. If you can work out more, that is even better.

You don't have to rock back and forth. You can also just hold a hollow (legs and chest off of the floor, small of your back on the floor). A gymnast can learn to hold this position for several minutes. See if you can hold it for 30 seconds.

V-Ups

A more advanced stomach conditioning excercise is V-ups. Always keep your stomach conditioning exercises at half an hour. (trying to work that whole time). Any stomach work that is less than half an hour is not worth your time. Your stomach muscles will hurt the next day. You will have to stretch. V-Ups are a little bit more complicated. Keep the small of your back on the floor. Lift both your chest and your legs off of the floor at the same time so that your body forms a 'V'. Then lower back down to a hollow postion. Do not touch your legs or back on the floor. Then lift your legs and chest back up to the 'V' position. Keep doing this for half an hour. You may have to rest a little bit during that time period, but keep the rest at minimum.

Stomach conditioning

Wednesday, November 21, 2007